496. Black Acre Brewing Co. (Indianapolis, IN) - The Hottest Day

The best I can come up with for a description of this collaboration with Guggman Haus Brewing Co. is that it’s an “imperial cold IPA.” They’ve had it on the board for a while at Black Acre, but it clocks in at 9.4% ABV, and I’m not big on beers that are that big when I have to drive home—even when it ain’t far. On the other hand, it’s only an eight-ounce pour, and the writing was going surprisingly well the other night, so I decided to splurge, if you will. “Cold IPA” is still new to me, so I don’t know exactly what to expect. Some quick perusing of the interwebs makes it sound like this is a style that uses lager-brewing techniques to craft an ale that has the hop-forward flavor and high alcohol you’d expect with an IPA, but in an easier-drinking format. This one did seem to be oddly drinkable, despite the fact that it’s 9.4%, and that the alcohol is very noticeable up front. Once you get past that initial hit of booze, though, you wind up with very nice hints of vanilla bean and herbal, fresh cut grass on the back end. You can’t smoke inside anymore, but, since the Loft is open again, this would be a great beer to linger over there—sipping it out of snifters and discussing it over cigars.